


Okina City - Rank 2 -> 3

by wottertrainer



Series: Lover's Arcana [3]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-16
Packaged: 2018-02-17 14:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2313353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wottertrainer/pseuds/wottertrainer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yosuke invites Souji to go shopping with him in the city, only to run into some unexpected problems...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Okina City - Rank 2 -> 3

“Hey, Souji-kun, are you free today?” There was a pause at the end of the line, something Yosuke wasn't entirely expecting, like he was debating if it was worth spending time with him today.

_“Yeah, what’s up?”_

“I was wondering if you’d come along with me to Okina today, I don’t feel comfortable going on my own and I wanted to do some shopping...” The idol smiled, sprawled out in bed and hardly even ready for the day himself, despite the time. He sat up, brushing through long bangs with his fingers as the silverlet on the other end of the line silently debated.   
  


_“Sure, I’m free today. Meet you at the train station in an hour, then?”_

“An hour? Sure.” He smiled, not even thinking about the time it would take him to actually get ready, and it wasn’t till he looked at the clock after the call had ended that he sprang up, realizing he still had to shower and actually get out of something other than his pajamas, and he ran to the top of the staircase, the brunet calling downstairs. 

“Gram! I’m going out today! Is my laundry dried?”   
  
\----------

**_> Okina City, Okina Station...._**

**_> You practically dragged Souji out of the station to the street...._ **

 

“Mmmmmman! That ride took _forever_...!” The idol sighed, hugging his arms behind his head and raising them to stretch, the stretch reaching from  hands to toes, the boy nearly stumbling backwards before landing back on the balls of his feet, bringing a chuckle from the boy he’d dragged along, the laughter hidden by the boy’s palm.

 Yosuke smirked, shaking his head before glancing down to his watch,  a sigh passing his lips as he tousled fingers through his still damp hair, he hadn’t had the time to do much of anything to it after he’d gotten dressed, an orange tank top and sleeveless collared button shirt, the tank top’s sleeves sagging on the idol’s shoulders, and red pants. He had to nearly bolt all the way from the shopping district to the train station to make it in time to catch the train, another thing Souji had laughed at, and it took half of the train ride for the idol to get his breath back.

“It took us longer than I’d have liked,,, we’ll have to zip out to the store if I wanna get what I wanted to buy today...” He huffed, looking around and trying to get his bearings on the street.

 

“What are we here for, exactly? You didn’t really elaborate on the phone.” Souji asked, a curious look to his face.  Yosuke seemed a bit surprised by that fact, but thinking back to their call that morning, he really hadn't said much other than the given invitation and a confirmation on the time.

“Yeah? Huh... I guess I didn’t... I was looking to get some new swim trunks for the summer.” He smiled, tossing a casual wink towards the other.  “After all, I’ve gotta leave a good first impression on you guys for the trip to the beach, right?” He said, and the other smiled, shaking his head.

“I don’t really see who you're trying to impress, Yosuke-kun. I don’t think the girls are going to notice some special name-brand swimsuit.” Souji’s comment made his smile falter, and he let his arms come up onto his shoulders, trying to figure out what to say in retort.

“Hey, a guy can try and show off his stuff, can’t he? I am a star, after all, I can promise I've got a nice bod under here. The girls will be _swooning._ ” His comment ended with a fairly childish stick of his tongue as he let his arms move to cross in front of his chest, and Souji smirked, shaking his head and letting a hand rest in his pocket, a stance Yosuke had seen from him practically any time he was standing.  Yosuke counted the conversation as a loss on his part, and simply started walking, thinking to himself before speaking up again.   
  
“...now that I think of it, where the heck does Kanji shop? I don’t think I’ve ever seen those kinds of old person shoes anywhere I usually shop..does he get em online...? Maybe he’s crazy enough and makes his own shoes..” The strand of thoughts made Souji laugh again, and Yosuke smirked, shaking his head.

Not looking where he was going, he realized too late Souji had stopped walking to look at something in Yosuke’s direction, and he turked his head, slamming right into someone standing in his way. The idol reeled back, landing hard on his rear and rubbing his face, red marks forming on his forehead and nose, as well as on the other person’s, the suspicious-looking male quickly apologising.  Souji was next to Yosuke in seconds, offering to help the boy up, the brunet taking the help and letting himself be pulled up,  looking down to dust off his clothes.

“E-excuse me! I’m s-so sorry...!!”

“Nah, man, it’s cool.” Yosuke rubs at an elbow, then again at his nose t make sure he’s not bleeding before looking up at the male, who seems to be looking straight at him.

 

“....Are you... _Yosku_ , by any chance?”

  
  
Yosuke fell silent, staring at the make for a few seconds before simply shaking his head.

“ _No, I’m not_. Let’s go, Souji-kun.” His voice is monotone, flat, and lacking any and all life it usually holds, and Souji asks if he’s okay after they’re out of earshot.

 

Yosuke shakes his head.

 

This continues over the course of the whole day. From older men asking about him with a mischievous glint in their eyes to fangirls coming up with pictures of him or **_Magic KEYS_** ’s latest album and a sharpie asking for his autograph, the idol gets it all, Souji remaining silent while Yosuke turns them down or simply says no and walks away.  

Souji’s sitting in the changing room, Yosuke tucked away in the safety of the confined space, where he can finally rant.  Souji hears a loud thump, and Yosuke curses, the boy on the other side of the door cradling the hand he’d just thrown at the wall.

 

“They never _fucking_ learn!” He cursed, tugging the buttons on his collared shirt off, followed shortly by his red pants. “But i told them. Boy did I fucking tell them today.” He grumbled, grabbing for the trunks he was trying on.  Souji sat, a hand up on his chin, and he sighed.

“You shouldn’t be using such vulgar language in public, Yosuke-kun...”  

The door swung open, Yosuke pulling the straps of his tank top up  to his shoulders and stepping out of the stall to look at himself in the mirrors, pulling the bottom of the top up his midriff to get a better look at the fit.

“But i told them today. _‘No, you’re mistaken.’ ‘I couldn’t be him.’ ‘I’m not Yosku....’_ ” He was silent, the anger in him subsiding, and his face fell.  He adjusted the strings on the trunks, fumbling to tie them together for a few moments.

“...Yosuke-kun, you don’t look very happy.” The other pointed out, lifting his eyebrows, invisible under the boy’s bangs. “....why are you so set on telling them you’re not who they think you are?”

“....because I’m not... I’m not ‘Yosku’ anymore. I’m an ordinary guy, just like you...” He paused, letting a smirk tug at his lips.

“And I’m _fine_ with that, happy, ecstatic, even.” To prove his point, he finally let himself laugh, letting a sigh pass his lips once he was done and actually looking at himself in the mirror.

“....You know, Souji-kun... I never thought I’d ever be able to be in public like this again. It’s.... so nice, not having all of your clothes bought for you, not having to have guards on you when you DO go shopping...” He sighed again, letting his shirt fall down again with a smile. He could see the puzzled look on Souji’s face through the mirror, but he didn’t really care much.

 

“...I really love Inaba.” Yosuke commented, changing the subject entirely. “Rumours spread fast, the same faces pass you by every day, and it gets on my last nerve sometimes, makes me wish i was in a city full of strangers, but even then, I love it.”  He stared at himself in the mirror,  frizzy hair,  circles finally starting to fade from under his eyes, more disheveled than he'd looked in years, and he smiled.

“Gramma’s there... you’re there... w-well, you and the others, of course.. and it feels like there’s something I can do there.... Souji-kun?”

The boy had remained silent till this point, letting the idol speak his mind. It wasn’t till then he spoke up, an inquisitive ‘hm?’ vibrating through his throat.  Yosuke turned away from the mirror, smiling and bringing hands up behind his hand again.

 

“Let’s do our best out there, okay?” Yosuke gave a wink, and he was relieved when the silverlet gave him a genuine smile in return.

 

“Right.” He replied, sitting more upright in his chair now and seeming to space out for a few moments as Yosuke turned around, looking at himself in the mirror again.

 

“....you know what? None of these trunks are really clicking with me...” Yosuke sighed, snapping Souji back to attention, the other boy smirking and shaking his head.

“So we came all the way out here for nothing, hm?”

“...I guess so. Sorry for dragging you all the way out here, dude.” He said, an apologetic smile as he turned to reenter the changing room and change.

“I didn’t mind. Like I said, there was nothing better for me to do today. It was nice getting to hang out with you today.”

Yosuke returned, pants on and tank top straps sagging once more,  the boy buttoning up the collared vest again, and smiled, tossing the trunks into a basket to be put back on the shelf when an employee came by.

“I’m glad you did. I don’t think I would have been able to stand it out here on my own, I’d have been swarmed for sure. Let’s get out of her before one of the staff members notices who I am and starts spreading rumors.” He laughs, but the fast pace in his step shows he’s quite serious, and they’re on the train back to Inaba in record time.

**Author's Note:**

> I ended up spending so much longer on this than I wanted and I'm pretty sure I missed a kun or two in there after Yosuke's name in Souji's speech, but I'm not particularly picky about that right now. I tried changing the scenery from what Rise's SL was in the game, and tried adding a little more conversation between the two this time. I hope this one's better than rank 1!


End file.
